China introduces tough fishing ban along Yangtze River

A permanent fishing ban in all 279 aquatic reserves along the Yangtze River has begun, as China races to revive the flagging ecosystem of its largest river.

"Biodiversity in the Yangtze River has been shrinking. The Chinese paddlefish has not been seen in years and the Chinese sturgeon and finless porpoise are on the brink of extinction," said Yu Kangzhen, Vice Minister of Agriculture, at a meeting in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, on Thursday.